OLLU baseball coach believes in team's talent

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Communication Arts High School graduate Jordan Hackett is a pitcher for Our Lady of the Lake's baseball team. The inaugural team will compete in the Red River Conference.

Communication Arts High School graduate Jordan Hackett is a pitcher for Our Lady of the Lake's baseball team. The inaugural team will compete in the Red River Conference.

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / San Antonio Express-News

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OLLU baseball coach believes in team's talent

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Start-up companies aren't expected to turn a profit in their first year.

The same principle generally applies to new baseball programs. At the professional level, expansion teams usually take a few years to compile more wins than losses. With colleges and high schools, the lack of experience tends to override the talent, for at least the first couple of years.

However, Our Lady of the Lake University baseball coach Freddy Rodriguez isn't buying the conventional wisdom. Rodriguez has no mental safety net in place when he appraises the Saints' chances for a winning season when they take the field for their inaugural season next spring.

“I have a lot of talent on this team,” Rodriguez said. “I just feel that we'll compete right off the bat. I know what it takes to win in this conference and at this level.”

Rodriguez is very knowledgeable about the Red River Conference. The 38-year-old spent nine years as baseball coach and one as athletic director at OLLU's conference rival, Texas College.

Of the 31 players listed on the initial OLLU roster, as of Aug. 1, nine are from the San Antonio area, six from the Northwest. To build a team capable of competing in the Red River Conference, Rodriguez sought out a good number of transfers from junior colleges and four-year schools to supplement the Saints' recent high school graduates.

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“I tried to get some junior college players and put them in defensive positions I could build the team around,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to be strong up the middle. Then I started looking for pitchers that could help us win ballgames.”

Catcher Connor Kalisky, a 2012 Marshall High School grad, will be one of OLLU's 14 relative veterans next year. Kalisky redshirted, or sat out the season to preserve a year of eligibility, in 2013 at the University of the Incarnate Word. He played in three games as a Cardinals redshirt freshman this season.

“I know Coach is bringing in a lot of freshmen,” said Kalisky, who'll be a sophomore in eligibility at OLLU, “I just want to pass on my experiences and help them out, especially with the mental game.”

As a senior, Kalisky led Marshall in batting average (.366) and shared the team lead with four home runs and 17 RBIs. He currently is playing for The Woodlands Strykers in the Texas Collegiate League.

“He's able to start right now, and that's huge,” Rodriguez said. “He's playing in the premier collegiate league in Texas and doing a really good job.”

Ruiz carried a team-best .415 batting average with 10 doubles, a triple and nine RBIs for Brandeis this year despite a hamstring pull. As a junior, he struggled to a .237 average while battling a back injury.

“Enrique's kind of an undersized guy, but he's a very impressive outfielder,” Rodriguez said. “He knows how to play the game, and he's a speed guy as well. He's a guy who I think will be my centerfielder for years to come.”

Now healthy, Ruiz was selected out of a team tryout on June 12.

“I'm definitely going in trying to earn a starting spot,” the prospective biology major said. “I'm not going to (be intimidated) by the kids coming from a junior college.”